THOMAS
F. HARRISON, Chairman
Karl
J. Wagener, Executive Director
Established - 1971
Statutory authority - CGS 22a-11
Central office - 79 Elm Street,
Hartford, CT 06106
Number of employees - One
Organizational structure – Nine-member appointed council
The Council on Environmental Quality's three main functions are to prepare and submit to the Governor an annual report on the status of Connecticut's environment; to review construction projects of state agencies; and to receive and investigate citizen complaints. It also has specific responsibilities under the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act, or CEPA (Conn. Gen. Statutes Sec. 22a-1 through 22a-1h). The Council is within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for administrative purposes only. Members of the nine-person Council are appointed by the Governor (5), Speaker of the House (2) and President Pro Tempore of the Senate (2). Members serve without compensation.
The Council submitted its annual report on the condition of Connecticut’s environment to Governor M. Jodi Rell in June 2006. To help the public make sense of the potentially confusing and conflicting technical data on environmental trends, the Council continued to use its format of straightforward environmental indicators that clearly chart the state’s progress. The report also assessed the overall effect of these environmental trends, and highlighted the natural resources that require more attention from state government. The report was distributed to state legislators and agency heads, municipalities, libraries, colleges and universities, and many other organizations.
In addition to its annual report, the
Council publishes interim reports that investigate current environmental topics
of statewide concern. “Preserved But Not
Protected,” published in December 2005, led to the adoption of legislation in
2006 that will improve protection of state, municipal, and nonprofit preserved
lands from encroachment and abuse. All
reports are published on the Council's portal website. Citizens can receive e-mail notices of public
meetings and publications by signing up for free e-alerts through the
website.
Since October 2002, the Council has
published the Environmental Monitor, an online publication that replaced the
Connecticut Law Journal as the official publication for CEPA notices. All state agencies post their required
environmental notices on the Monitor website.
The Monitor is distributed to all municipal clerks as well as any
citizen who subscribes to e-alerts through the website. This electronic publication saves considerable
sums, by eliminating printing and mailing costs and even the staff time that
would be needed to manage a mailing list of a traditional print periodical.
The Council continued its practice of
holding public forums in different areas of the state, including Torrington in
September 2005 and Simsbury in February 2006.
Citizens and local officials spoke at these forums about their views on
state environmental policies and programs.
The public is also welcome to attend the Council’s monthly meetings.
Individual citizens, municipalities, and
organizations brought numerous problems to the Council’s attention, and the
Council investigated and helped to resolve cases involving encroachments on
preserved lands, environmental review of surplus state lands, enforcement of
inland wetlands laws, drying up of rivers, and many other problems.
The Council is required to
submit an annual report to the Governor on the status of Connecticut's
environment. The report is available on
the Council’s website (www.ct.gov/ceq).